Guides to Saudi law and procedure for foreign clients
These guides explain, in plain English, how parts of Saudi law and procedure work for foreign companies, investors and individuals. Each guide covers one process or idea, links the official sources and shows when it was last updated. Start with the guide that matches your question.
Published by RAED ALI ALJOHANI COMPANY FOR Lawyership and Legal Consultations · Last updated
General information about Saudi law — not advice on your situation.
If your question is about your own matter, send us a short outline and we’ll tell you whether we can help.
What do these Saudi law guides cover?
Each guide explains one Saudi legal process or idea that comes up in many situations. Some explain an old term that people still use after the law changed, such as “MISA licence” (MISA is the Ministry of Investment). Others explain the stages of one kind of case, such as a criminal case. The guides cover Saudi law and procedure only, not the law of your own country.
If your question is about one situation, such as an unpaid invoice, the page for that service answers it. For a single Saudi word, such as iqama (the residence permit of a foreigner living in Saudi Arabia), see the glossary. It explains each term in plain words and often links the official page.
If you need to use documents from your own country in Saudi Arabia, see apostille or legalisation: documents for Saudi Arabia by country. It shows when a document usually needs an apostille (one official certificate) or legalisation (a series of official stamps). The answer depends on your country and on the Saudi office that receives the document.
How are these Saudi law guides written and kept up to date?
We check each guide against the official sources it links, and show the date it was last updated. You can open those sources to check the current rules yourself.
Our editorial policy explains how we write, check and date our pages. For dated changes in Saudi law that affect foreigners, see What’s changed.
In the list below, guides marked “Coming soon” are planned but not yet published.
All guides
- “MISA licence” or registration? What the term means now
Do I still need a 'MISA licence', or is it registration now?
- Enforcement instruments in Saudi Arabia: which documents let you skip a full lawsuit
What is an enforcement instrument, a document you can enforce without a full lawsuit?
- The criminal process in Saudi Arabia, stage by stage
How does the criminal process work in Saudi Arabia, stage by stage?
- How an Enforcement Court case moves, stage by stageComing soon
How does an Enforcement Court case move, stage by stage?
- How Saudi commercial agency rules apply to distributorsComing soon
What is a commercial agency under Saudi law, and does it cover distributors?
- Saudi court notifications: SMS, Najiz and what to doComing soon
How do I respond to a summons or a Najiz notification?
- Your embassy and your lawyer: who does whatComing soon
Do I need a lawyer, or can the embassy help?
- Arabic, English and your case: translation, interpreting and bilingual representationComing soon
Are proceedings in Arabic? Do I need translations?
- The Investment Law in plain EnglishComing soon
What is the Saudi Investment Law, and what changed in 2025?
- Saudization (Nitaqat) explained for foreign-owned companiesComing soon
What is Saudization (Nitaqat) and when does it start to apply to a new company?
- Tax basics for a foreign-owned Saudi companyComing soon
Is Saudi Arabia tax-free for companies?
- What an engagement letter with a Saudi law firm coversComing soon
What goes into the engagement contract?
General information about Saudi law, not advice on your situation. Contacting us does not create a lawyer–client relationship until an engagement letter is signed.